Educators in Action is a blog for educators, by educators. The posts in Educators in Action are provided by our Board, Fellows,
State Leaders, and Award winners. If you have any questions about the blog, please contact
Leadership Coordinator Jordan Kronz
for more information!

I have just recently returned from our HOSA National Leadership
Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 26-29. My group
included 18 students and five adults. Two of the adults are teachers
with me at the JEL Career Center, and it was their first time attending.

I am thoroughly excited that our high school agricultural program made the news with the article "Northern Burlington High School agriscience program turns students into farmers"
yet I cringe at the title. I believe in production agriculture as it
is the foundation of all of our food and fiber needs. I know the vital
importance of the farmer in the agriculture industry. I am concerned
that in the United States we have an ever aging population of farmers.
However, our program does so much more than "turn students into farmers"
and the article even addressed that.

A couple of years ago, our department of education began to fervently
push ahead for Career Pathways. At the time, my program, Advanced Life
Science: Animals and Veterinary Assisting, fell under the general
heading of health careers. With the pathway they proposed, my program
would only be offered as a one-year program for seniors. This was very
disturbing to me since I had built my program as a two-year program. To
be under the heading of health careers would essentially cut my
enrollment in half, do away with my dual credit with Purdue University
and prevent any certification for lack of contact hours in the field.

The school year has come to an end. Every May, I reflect back upon my
year and evaluate my performance and influence. Four seniors left my
program this year as they move on to bigger and brighter things. Seeing
those four girls leave is bittersweet.

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet with future agriculture teachers
who are nearing the end of their college experiences at Virginia Tech,
Penn State and the University of Delaware. Since we are in state
mandated testing week in NJ, this was a virtual meeting where I skyped
into their meeting. Earlier in the week, they had written some questions
about involvement in professional organizations as well as using
technology in the classroom. Those questions gave me the inspiration for
a topic of being a connected educator.

As all of us in CTE know, we have to incorporate CTSOs into our curriculum. My students are members of Health Occupation Students of America. Each year, we select officers, do fundraisers and attend conferences.

On April 19, several hundred students from schools throughout Colorado
gathered at the Auraria campus in Denver for the 4th annual Creative
Careers Festival. This festival was developed to give students in
Colorado creative careers CTSOs access to the following opportunities:

I just recently returned from Kansas FCCLA State Leadership Conference.
While there three of my students competed in STAR events and all brought
home silver medals. What a great experience for these students. This
opportunity gives students the chance to practice public speaking
skills, organizational skills, time management and allows them to gain
confidence outside the classroom. FCCLA is only one of many career and
technical student organizations that provide these, and numerous other,
necessary skills to succeed in life.